Known hub assemblies for vehicles, particularly large commercial vehicles, include a bearing having a split inner race mounted on a vehicle axle with a hub for mounting a vehicle wheel mounted to the outer race of the bearing. A lip on the hub positioned inboard of the bearing prevents the hub from being removed in an outboard direction without the bearing being simultaneously removed.
Hub removal may be necessary, for example, to replace a worn brake disc mounted inboard of the hub. Removing the bearing requires a relatively high disassembly time. Since split-race bearings are usually used, the most significant time overhead occurs during re-assembly because it is necessary to apply an accurate, predetermined amount of compressive force between the two inner races. If an antilock braking system (ABS) sensor is provided on the bearing, the disassembly and re-assembly procedure is further complicated.
The present invention seeks to overcome, or at least mitigate, the problems of the prior art.